It is good to see that this is getting a small but nice update as the developer is spending a lot of time on web based audio (which is pretty cool and will write about it soon). Also gives a reason to bring this interesting application up again as it is one of the more interesting apps for Android there is. Anyone that is looking for a more advanced synthesizer engines that can sound raw should check this out. Plus that it comes with a lot of effects, a simple drum machine and four track sequencer.

The interesting "Groovebox" is sneakily getting updated and growing while no-one is looking!It was sometime that it got mentioned so if you missed it it is worth to take a look and there is a free demo.

It is a nice thing and I like the chiptune vibe you can get out of this application.Of course you can do much more but for me if I want to do something chiptunish is turn to this or to Nanoloop depending on where I want to go- Mikrowave can definitively go much more extreme and have a different flavor.

Mikrowave by one of my favorite developers gets a nice update as it was a interesting app before but it had it's limitations. It has a funky synthesizer engine and a lot of possibilities but being restricted to one sequencer track, one recordable synthesizer track and a drum track it could be hard to make more than rudimentary sketches of a track.Well that have now changed as there is now two more synthesizer tracks.Meaning three sequenced synthesizer tracks one drum track plus the recordable synthesizer!Must also mention that for a person that is interested in making Chiptune this is definitively worth a look as it has one funky arpeggiator that can create those lovely fake chords from trackers of yore with a sound that almost exclusively gets heard in chiptune music.In either case there is a demo and the full app is for almost nothing so go check it out now!

The update:___________________________________________________________________________________________________- added TWO extra synthesizers for you multi-channel fun!- added square wave to routeable LFO- optimized FM module- sequencer controls always on top- reduced memory consumption- fixed bugs with song exporting- fixed bug where top octave not would be reloaded on lower octave- fixed bug where arpeggiated lines would be reloaded at different frequencies...

__________________________________________________________________________________________________Here is an the old promotional video but just imagine this times two more tracks to play with.

Okay it is not a Android app but the developer is and part of this web browser instrument can be found in his Android app - Mikrowave. ( He also made the funky controlled chaos rhythm machine Kosm). The big reason for posting this is to get the idea how to use a chiptune based sound for a live drone manipulation. It is working pretty good!

Mikrowave got updated but also wanted to mention the arpeggiator that got incorporated last update making Mikrowave one of the contenders for authentic Chiptune sounds.Being a arpeggiator that can play very short arpeggios it emulates the sound from tracker software that wanted to emulate chords but the original trackers only having four tracks and playing notes monophonically the only way to emulate chords was to decide the notes in the arpeggio and then they would be played in rapid succession making a sound that is very specific for chiptune and early computer music using trackers.Also being able to have up to eight notes in any position and deciding the playback speed ( making it possible to use in a more traditional way ) makes this arpeggiator very flexible.Just wanted to point this out if you have missed out on MikroWave and are interested in making Chiptune sounds. Of course Mikrowave is not only for Chiptune music but it is now in my eyes one of the better apps for making those kind of sounds if one is willing.Sorry for going on about an older update but felt that it is worth pointing out as it can easily be missed looking into the app...Here is the latest update:__________________________________________________________________________________________________- improved multi touch response for keyboard- on tablets you can now adjust synth parameters while simultaneously playing the keyboard for quick improvising or live performance!- incremental adjustments to tempo are now visible- miscellaneous bugfixes for stability and audio performance___________________________________________________________________________________________________The app is cheap and a good addition to whatever synthesizers / sequencers already installed as it can be used for live tweaking, basic song making and the synthesizer engine and effects sounds good complementing other apps.There is also a free version with saving disabled.

If you have not checked out this application before maybe it is time to take a look.It has a nice set of features and the sound is good. It comes with sequencer track for one synthesizer and one for drums. Plus that you can play a keyboard on top with another synthesizer voice on top. This is now more useful as it also includes the possibility to arpeggiate so even if it is minimal in the tracks it can be used to make minimal music with or use in combination with other apps. The synthesizer do have a good amount of tweaking and there is accessible and a good amount of effects to use. It can work as a groovebox and would say that the developer has meant it to be used like that. In either case go check it out! There is a free version to try and the paid version costs as little as a coffee.Here is what is updated:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- overhauled the layout, optimized 10" tablet views- arpeggiator introduced to the synth!- added compressor to synthesizer- formant filter interpolates between values- added transport controls to main sequencer view- improved low end frequency response, ruuumbleee- fine tuned the drum sounds for all your oomph! and phwoar!- fixed pitchshifter bug- added pitchshifter to drum editor- miscellaneous bugfixes...----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It is nice for me that this is getting updated as one project I started Nanoloop and Mikrowave is being used and look forward to to play with the arpeggiator and it is nice to be able to tune the drums and lets seee the improved low end!Here is a new video demonstrating the new version and this time with better sound.

Mikrowave is one application that has always been interesting and every four months or so gets an update adding to it and since the last three updates it just gets better and better. When I first got it it was pretty good but on the device I had at the time a little bit sluggish then the sound engine got updated it started to sound very good and the latency were reduced and now for me it has a good response. Just happy that it gets better and better as I do like it pretty much and is one of the applications that I use.You should buy it or try the Demo (you have to love Android for allowing developers for allowing demos) it is the price of a coffee and if you spend some time with it would probably sneak into some of your projects as the synthesizer is very nice in itself without the sequencer. Or it has just the right amount of control, functions and a sequencer to do interesting minimal tracks with. In the right hands always imagine these minimalistic but good synth pop songs.Here is the Update information:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.5.6:- bugfix concerning the keyboard!1.5.5:- added extra oscillator to synthesizer- optimized caching routine for higher performance1.5.4:- all new pitch shifter for a maximum twist on the ears (requires a fast CPU though)- fixed graphics issues on low resolution devices (Galaxy Gio / Pocket Plus)...more details about change log history can be found at : http://www.igorski.nl/mikrowave/lab------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Playstore link:Mikrowave

Mikrowave the same developer that have also made one of my favorite applications for getting glitchy rhythms, that one is called Kosm- To read some more about it check under the sub header Automatic Sound generators...Well the other one is a small groovebox/synthesizer/drum machine and that is Mikrowave.Always had interest in getting more in depth with it and last month he did a big upgrade of the sound engine and that was my cue!!!Happy that this happened as now having been using it for awhile and like it, as the sound has sharpness to it that normally you wont find in Android synths,also coming with one oscillator that have not found in any Android synthesizer which is a type of oscillator to simulate string sounds. then there is five more oscillators - Sine, saw, two square and one random.There is attack, release LFO modulation of the low pass filter and less common- Frequency modulation using saw, sine or triangle oscillation.Comes with effects- Low pass filter, delay, phaser, "speak" filter and two different distortions degrading the signal in the digital realm these two last ones making me suspect a deep love for the Chiptune music- Which also is good fun with this synthesizer as it is based on Virtual Analog but with the possibilities to coax out something brutal, digital.There is in addition a cute drum machine that can sound lo-fi dirty brutal- Just four sounds- kick, snare, rim and hi hat. Comes with the effects- A switch in between "light kit" and "gravel kit" then comes Compressor, bit reducer, low pass filter, delay and as for the synth a "speak" (vowel) filter with combinations of these you can easily shape the sound in many ways.But must say that right now there is one thing that is hard for me, that there is no way to mix the volume of the different drums but that is planned for a future upgrade.In general you feel that the developer has made something from a highly personal vision.Something that he wants to see realized with limitations and all and as such it comes with some quirks.That may dissuade you from going deeper into it. This may seem like negative critique but must say that for me it has been a blessing-Let me explain-My first thought was to try it out with one of my pet music projects- Translating one of my finger style acoustic guitar songs to something electronic.BUT...What the fuck the one sequencer only goes one octave how am I going to translate finger style guitar in this way!For that you would need to be able to program the sequencer in at least three octaves. Well as that was not working started experimenting with one octave and got bass sounds out of it that was both deep and for me the right frequencies and this without trying too hard-Have I finally found the bass machine that always eluded me?!Ohhh me thinks so. At least for one of my projects...Frank Malm going deep dark dub project.This is definitively going to be used for my dub fantasies. (not talking about dubstep, not anything against dubstep but straight forward dub being more my styelelee).But as you can also play the two octave keyboard or use the polyphonic sequencer you can of course use it as one of the better synthesizers in my opinion.On top of the sequencer you can open up a keyboard and play chords/melodies using two octaves- both in the sequencer and using the keyboard you can specify which octaves you want to use but it has to be the same sound but that does not have to be to much of a problem as you can either do as in the sound example that comes with this review where the sequencer is used for the bass and the keyboard is played live four octaves higher.Or use two instances if you have anything that can record multi track and want to separate the different sounds.This leads me to something that I have been doing a lot of lately and here Mikrowave comes into full play...Use a mixer and more than one device record directly into computer/recorder and so you can have a lot of fun!!! Using two, three Mikrowave's or like in the sound example coming with the review using the Mikrowave- Drum machine, sequencer for bass and keyboard sounds played directly using two more devices for embellishments. ( Synchroid and shape synth ).As this think that Mikrowave always will have a special place in the set up and hopefully will be playing live in this kind of way in half a year or so using my Android devices....You can also record live sessions directly in Mikrowave to use as bases for further sonic explorations or save the sequenced synthesizer and drum machine as a wav file,or for the accomplished Mikrowave user directly to Soundcloud.Mikrowave is one of these applications that you will use if you are using Android for music creations stepping outside of "one application does it all". If... you take the time and explore it properly.Must also point out that the developer is a good guy that will listen to your suggestions or fix any bug that you find. Yes remember that with Android almost all the developers are reachable being independent and will listen to you, so do not be scared to write them as in 90% of the times they will respond!To finish there is part of a small jam session to listen to,totally non produced that got made yesterday evening and there is more videos with music floating around the internet...